Louis (Lou) R. Cross

very sad to hear. may he rest in peace.

a long and very productive life. we should all be so fortunate.

Ouch! Another soul stepping into eternity.  What a gentleman!  He set the bar high for  honesty, integrity & consistency,  Always very pleasant.  A significant  loss, (for us).

This is a great loss to our hobby.  Lou was such a gentleman.  I have over 100 turnouts built using Lou's great looking turnout castings and rail.  Whenever I would need more I'd just call him and they would be in the mail by the next day - shipped first - pay me later.  Hopefully someone will eventually pick up Lou's product line but he can't be replaced.

Ed Rappe

I am very sorry to hear this. Lou was one of the first suppliers I contacted when I got into O scale 2 rail 20+ years ago. He spent much time on the phone answering my questions over the years, first when I was in the UK and then here in Canada. His patience and insights helped me greatly. His products and service were always top notch. For my first order of several complete turnout kits for hand laying, he actually built one and included it, spiked onto cork at no extra cost, "just to be sure I'd be able to see how to do things right"! And he shipped it all out before my cheque had even arrived, much less cleared.

Lou was a true gentleman and he will be sorely missed in our hobby. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Pete   

Lou was a gentleman beyond what most of us will encounter. His business ethic was uncommon in this day and age. I value the contact I had with him when I ordered track supplies...he will be sorely missed indeed.

Bob

This is sad. He was such a great guy to deal with and to talk to. Wish I could've talk to him more. 

I bought a lot of his parts over the years and his way of doing business was unheard of. 

Glad I got deal with him for a bit. What a great loss to the hobby. 

Rest in peace Lou 

Ralph

He brought us the finest turnout castings, and talking to him over the phone every time I needed to order something was a true pleasure. I am sure his product line will be picked up, and we'll have more of Lou in our rroads.

I'd like to see images of his railroad, can anyone provide pictures so we can celebrate the man's work?

I too value the interactions I had with him. My condolences to friends and family.

PRR Man posted:

a long and very productive life. we should all be so fortunate.

 

Amen to that.

This is such a huge loss.  I also went to Lou when I first started getting in to 2 rail, he was very patient and kind answering my questions and explaining so many things to me...even things I didn't know to ask.  I am grateful that I got to meet him at the March meet a couple years ago.  He was indeed a true gentleman.  My condolences to his family and friends.

Ahhh, drat! I was just about to order some rail and ties from Lou. A fine gentleman who trusted the railfan community's honesty by requesting payment after he invoiced!   A  vestige of the best of the 19th century, where a man's handshake was his bond. I bet there is not a bad word to be spoken about Lou - that's as good a memorial as one can receive.

Sad news.   Lou was a true gentleman.

May he rest in peace. 

We have lost a gentle giant of the hobby.

My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Ken

Very sad news. I can repeat what has been written already, Lou was a true gentleman and was super helpful and good to me. He will be missed.

I've never had the opportunity to work or talk with him, but I knew him through the community.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Andre.

Ah Lord! I was afraid to open this after reading the title. I don't know much about his business other than the castings I have seen. They look like some great work. I was always surprised that they all came from one guy, in California. Must have been way ahead for his time. The comment about the loss to the hobby is what I'm getting at.

 93 years, is some great time on earth. I hope he is blessed again and again.

I didn't know Lou either but I had heard a lot of nice things about him and after reading this thread I can see they must be true. I am saddened to hear of his passing. He did a lot for the 2 rail side of the hobby. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends. 

Phil

An example for all, may peace be with you.

Our prayers go to his family. 

I never knew him; he sure sounds like a great talent. 

Ladies & Gents,

   Our prayers and wishes go out to his family, may God hold him in the palm of his ever lasting hands.

PCRR/Dave

It is a great sadness to read of Lou's passing, but the replies in this thread are an excellent tribute.  The news came as quite a shock, particularly because I had just spoken to Lou and received a shipment from him last Friday.  We shared a pleasant conversation on the phone and talked about business, the hobby, and the project I was starting.  I had the pleasure to meet Lou in person at O Scale West a few times over the years as well.  Both on the phone and in person Lou was exactly as others have described him… a complete gentleman.  He always made you feel like the conversation you were having was the most important thing to him in that moment.

I first learned about Lou's products during an O Scale West clinic on hand laying track given by Jim Harper.  Jim brought it some exquisite examples of Proto 48 track and turnouts he built with Lou's parts.  After the clinic I headed strait for Lou's table and made his acquaintance.  That afternoon felt like being welcomed into a quite club of gentleman who appreciated model railroading in general, and track work in particular, as an art form.  From that day forward the idea crafting custom track work never seemed daunting.  The knowledge, experience, and passion that Lou shared so willingly opened the door to a whole new part of the hobby.

What many here on the 2-rail forum may not know is that Lou's rail joiners helped to save an entire product line of 3-rail track.  MTH's ScaleTrax line was introduced in the late 90's with flex track, but no rail joiners or other means to join the flex to sectional pieces.  A few of us began using Lou's nickel silver rail joiners as a way to both join the flex track and improve the appearance.  This technique was shared in an OGR article and in clinics at York.  It was part of an effort to popularize 3-Rail Scale track work that literally saved ScaleTrax from being discontinued around 2009.

Like everyone who did business with Lou I will miss opening the mailbox to find a little box or a bright orange envelope from Chowchilla, CA.  But more than anything I will miss the kindness and generosity of the man who filled those boxes with just the thing you needed, right when it was needed.  He loved this hobby, he cared about his fellow hobbyist, and he made the hobby more fun and satisfying for many of us.

Thank you, Lou.

The first time I ordered something from Lou, I asked how much was the order.  He said he would send a bill with the order. I got the impression that with Lou, all you needed was a handshake to seal the deal.

He will be missed.

Larry

Lou was a man that took another man at his word, and that was good enough for him.  I had the same experience my first time ordering from him, and he just told me to pay when I got the product......what a man.